Age-Specific and Individual Features of Vasopressinergic Regulation of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal System in Primates

Experimental study was carried out on young mature (6-8 years) and old (21-27 years) rhesus macaques with anxious and depression-like behavior and with standard (control) adaptive behavior. The responce of the adenohypophysis to arginine vasopressin depended on age and the type of adaptive behavior. Young animals with standard behavior demonstrated much higher concentrations of ACTH in the peripheral plasma in response to arginine vasopressin than old animals. The secretion of ACTH was higher in young and old animals with anxious and depressive-like adaptive behavior and they exhibited no age-specifi c differences in reaction to arginine vasopressin, which were observed in control animals. Preinjection of vasopressin V1b receptor antagonist to a female with high anxiety sharply reduced ACTH secretion in response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in comparison with ACTH secretion under the same conditions without antagonist injection. These results suggested that the vasopressinergic system of animals with anxious and depressive behavior plays an important role in the regulation of ACTH secretion and in activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal system in general.